From technical assistance to rural extension in agricultural cooperatives

Abstract

Agricultural cooperatives have long experience in offering technical assistance services to their members. This action, and the consequences arising from it, although potentially diverse and relevant, has not been sufficiently discussed by cooperatives, research institutes and companies that provide the service. This is a theoretical investigation, which aims to investigate the issue, based on the experiences of cooperatives in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Given the competitive context in which they find themselves, agricultural cooperatives need to provide economic responses at the same time that they are organizations that have the capacity to intervene in the social reality of the population; that is, agricultural cooperatives are a local act that fulfill functions in the promotion of better living conditions for their associates and are potential protagonists of rural development. The conclusion points out that considering the services of the technical assistance and rural extension departments as an ATER Cooperative would enable greater integration between the administrative, commercial and financial sectors of the cooperative and the collective development of the cooperative members.

Keywords:
rural development; technical assistance; rural extension; agricultural cooperatives